A dense week for U.S. immigration news, with court rulings reshaping active policies, new data on visa and green card processing, a handful of enforcement actions, and a hard deadline still bearing down on Diversity Visa cases. Here is what happened between September 5 and September 11, 2026.
Court rulings
The biggest story of the week was the ongoing fight over the Fiscal Year 2026 Diversity Visa program. A federal judge in California ordered USCIS to resume processing paused DV-2026 adjustment cases, but the program’s statutory September 30 deadline for visa numbers has not moved, so the practical relief for selectees is still a race against the calendar.
In Maryland, a federal judge ruled against an executive order that sought to narrow birthright citizenship, the latest setback for that policy in the courts. An appeals court also kept a block in place on IRS taxpayer data being shared with ICE. Separately, in the fight over ending Duration of Status for international students, a judge called the potential harm enormous but has not yet ruled on the underlying policy.
Policy and rulemaking
Several rule changes moved forward or shifted timelines this week. USCIS granted a grace period on new Form I-864 requirements after a no-notice rollout drew a lawsuit. A proposed rule that would end the 60-day grace period after job loss for certain nonimmigrant workers has cleared White House review but has not been published and is not yet in effect.
DHS confirmed that TPS holders from El Salvador remain protected while a related decision is pending, and the agency expanded a rule affecting children of foreign government employees, subject to limits set by the courts. The 9-11 biometric fee now applies to routine H-1B and L-1 extensions, and USCIS confirmed a new office opening in Addis Ababa. On the academic side, the confirmed end date for Duration of Status arrived this week: it ends September 15, with a transition provision running through March 18, 2027.
Visas and green cards
New USCIS data released this week showed the family-based green card backlog topped 611,000 cases as I-485 approvals dropped 24 percent in the latest quarter. Employment-based categories showed a mixed picture: EB-1A approvals fell to about 32 percent, while EB-2 NIW approvals rebounded to 55 percent of decisions.
Enforcement actions
In Texas, federal prosecutors allege a USCIS officer in Dallas sold green cards and citizenship approvals over six years, skipping interviews and background checks. The Department of Labor also suspended PERM filings for two employers, without disclosing charges or allegations.
What to watch next week
The Duration of Status rule takes effect September 15, and the Diversity Visa program’s September 30 deadline is approaching fast for FY-2026 selectees still waiting on adjustment decisions. TR Immigration will keep tracking both as they develop.
TR Immigration is an independent information platform and does not provide legal advice, eligibility determinations, or predictions about individual cases.
